Weekly Update for 4/13

Happy Monday!  Only 1 more week until April Vacation!! The Red Sox will open up their season today at Fenway Park.  We hope you will participate in our all school spirit day to support the team by wearing anything baseball related to school today, Monday April 13^th.

A couple other things to note this week:

• Tuesday will be 2^nd grade school store
• Wednesday is a half day (dismissal at 12:20) for professional development
• I am looking for volunteers for research on Monday mornings (see below)

Here is what 2^nd graders in room 7 will be working on throughout the week…

Writing- We completed our first day of research in the library on Thursday.  The children worked very hard at finding the answers to their “I Wonder” questions.  We then learned how to turn our notes into a paragraph to answer our "I Wonder" question. Our class will be visiting the library on the next three Mondays from 11:45-12:30 (4/13, 4/27, and 5/4) to continue our research.  Parent volunteers are much appreciated (and needed!), so please let me know if you are available to help out during any of these times.

Guided Reading- The students did a wonderful job last week identifying character traits and supporting their opinions. This week groups will work on picking out their favorite part of the story and writing down why. The written comprehension part of reading is a big focus for 3^rd grade, so we are really trying to prepare them with all of the strategy work we've been doing with our groups.

Math- Our math work over the next few days will be on data collection and graphing.  The children will practice creating and interpreting line plots, as well as vertical and horizontal bar graphs.  They will also have the opportunity to survey their classmates on various topics and use that data to create a graph of their own.

Social Studies- We had a great time in Antarctica, but it is time to move to warmer climate!  We will visit AFRICA this week!

**Lastly, the PTO will be sponsoring a Robinson School Family Picnic on Friday, May 15^th from 4:00-7:00. The organizers of this event are looking for 1-2 contacts from each classroom to help get the word out and/or help with the picnic. If you would like to be a contact for our class, please let me know and I will forward your contact information to the organizers. Thank you!